


A Kind Lie

by neverminetohold



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Character Study, Episode Style, Gen, Mild Blood, References to Depression, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-07 17:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11064123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverminetohold/pseuds/neverminetohold
Summary: Without stopping to think, Natsume followed the trail of blood...





	A Kind Lie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crescenttwins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescenttwins/gifts).



The school building had vanished behind him, lost on the far side of the gently rolling hill. Natsume slowed his pace, feeling hot and sweaty despite a sudden gust of wind that tousled his hair. The sun was like a crushing weight, bearing down on the quaint outskirts of Hitoyoshi City from a clear blue sky with not a single cloud in sight.  
  
The heat was humid and stagnant, as stifling inside as outdoors. - No wonder Nyanko-sensei had taken to loudly demanding melon slices and shaved ice on a daily basis.  
  
Licking his chapped lips, Natsume stopped with a weary sigh. He opened the first two buttons of his uniform and loosened the stiff collar, then quickly raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glare of a passing car.  
  
The air above the pavement flickered and shimmered, but also carried the sweet, straw-and-flowers scent of the nearby paddy fields. Inhaling deeply, Natsume smiled. What had seemed like another short stop between relatives, nothing more than a roof over his head, while counting the days until the Fujiwara's grew tired of him, had come to feel like home.  
  
Lost in his thoughts, that unexpected rush of contentment and happiness, his hands busy pulling a bottle of mineral water from his leather bag, Natsume blinked twice and froze. Right beside his shoes there were red droplets on the ground.  
  
Before his mind could fully process what he had seen, his feet began to follow the trail, towards the konbini, around the corner, and down the narrow, shadowed path where the dumpsters stood hidden from public view.  
  
Having reached a dead end, he stopped and stared. A chill crawled up along his spine. Sitting with his back against the brickwork was a young man. His head hung low, strands of black hair obscured his pale face - and the jeans and T-shirt he wore were dark with blood...  
  
Natsume whipped around, fearing that it might be too late already and thus not bothering to check for a pulse, cursing the fact that he didn't own a cell phone. "I'll call an ambulance!"  
  
He didn't get very far.  
  
A hand closed around his wrist and pulled him back with a sharp tug. His shoulder twinged in protest as he half-turned, stumbled, and landed on his bottom in a cloud of dust. "Ow!"  
  
Massaging his arm, Natsume looked up - into crimson eyes with slitted pupils that narrowed even more as the 'young man' studied him. Well, that certainly explained why none of the other pedestrians had reacted to the sight of blood in broad daylight.  
  
"My apologies. I assure you, I have no intention to harm you," the youkai said, his tone awfully calm and polite for someone who was bleeding to death. "However, I must insist that you do not draw undue attention to my person."  
  
Natsume hesitated, poised to jump up and run away, - if only for a fleeting moment. He knew full well that Nyanko-sensei would admonish him for getting involved. Again. But how could he have ignored someone in need of help? Youkai. Human. He had long since decided that it made no difference to him.  
  
His pounding heart and racing pulse had no real chance to slow down as the situation they were in, the potential danger, truly registered. "Is the one who did this to you still around?"  
  
The youkai tilted his head, as if listening to something only he could hear. "It is a possibility, though his presence has faded. Still, it would be wise for you to leave."  
  
Natsume shook his head. "I can't do that."  
  
"Why ever not?"  
  
"It would not feel right." Natsume avoided the youkai's searching gaze, watching instead a crow peck at something greasy it had snatched from the nearest dumpster. "And I would regret it later."  
  
Silence, then: "You are very kind, child of man."  
  
Feeling a flush spread across his cheeks, Natsume used a smile to hide his eyes. "Would oborosou help?"  
  
After what had happened with Nyanko-sensei, they had hidden a small stockpile of the herb near the temple, with Misuzu and Hinoe adding more to it as they came across it on their travels.  
  
The only possible answer dawned on him even before the youkai replied in the negative. The clothes he wore, curiously modern in stark contrast to his formal way of speech, were not torn. Therefore his wounds were clearly magical in nature. Most were cuts that had bitten deep into the flesh, but others were mottled marks, that reminded Natsume of rope burn - and one of the binding spells Natori had once performed to seal an evil spirit.  
  
"Judging by your manner, you must be the grandson of Natsume Reiko I have heard so much about, the Keeper of the Book of Friends."  
  
Natsume nodded, making no attempt to deny it. He had learned over the years to trust his instincts and they told him that this strange youkai was no threat to him. Nothing about his aura made him wary - there was only a bone-deep sense of melancholy.  
  
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Natsume-dono," the youkai said, his tone still not betraying any of the pain he must have been in. "If you so desire, you may call me Tetsu."  
  
Not wishing to pry, but determined to find out whatever he could about anything that might end up endangering his friends of either world, Natsume asked, "Tetsu, what happened to you?"  
  
"That, you have already guessed," Tetsu said, adding mildly, "But do not concern yourself. We are merely passing through."  
  
Natsume frowned, instantly worried that the Matoba clan might be involved. "An exorcist did this?"  
  
"He has been hunting me for a long time," Tetsu stated matter-of-fact. He prodded a cut with one finger; its tip started to glow golden. "At least by the measure of your kind."  
  
Natsume watched, fascinated, as the torn flesh and skin began to knit itself together. "Why?"  
  
"He blames me for the death of his daughter."  
  
Without warning, Natsume felt the memories rise between them. Like specks of light within a dark, roiling fog, they were drawn to the surface. They were vague, muted: the silhouette of a man, cradling a little girl, then sitting motionless, as a clock ticked away the hours, days, months. The flash of lightning, revealing Tetsu's cruelly mocking smile as he peered in through a window. A howl of rage, the man striding forward, limned in an aura that spiked with both hatred and renewed purpose.  
  
Natsume blinked the vision away and exhaled slowly. Over time, he had come to appreciate his spiritual powers for the insights they provided. Through them, in a way that was not possible between humans with their reliance on spoken words, he could understand the hearts of youkai.  
  
"You didn't kill her."  
  
Tetsu seemed repulsed by the mere suggestion. "No."  
  
"But you let him believe that you did."  
  
"I was cruel to be kind." Tetsu raised his chin, as if to convey that he regretted nothing. "It may well prove my undoing."  
  
"Tetsu -"  
  
Head tilted, listening again, Tetsu suddenly sat up straight. "I must ask you to leave. _Now_."  
  
Having gained an understanding of the situation, Natsume knew better than to argue. He stood, picked up his school bag, and ran for the main street, with only a quickly called: "Good luck!"  
  
As he walked away, as he passed by a grim-faced man, he could not help but wonder if, one day, he would meet Tetsu again. If the exorcist would learn the truth of what had happened. If he would find another reason to live for than blind revenge.  
  
Natsume couldn't have said why, but he felt hopeful.


End file.
